1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manual thermal writing device for forming an image on an image-forming substrate that is coated with a layer of microcapsules filled with dye or ink, by selectively squashing or breaking the microcapsules in the layer of microcapsules.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a type of microcapsule, contained in the layer of microcapsules of the image-forming substrate, there is proposed a microcapsule that exhibits a pressure/temperature breaking characteristic such that, when the microcapsule is squashed and broken under a predetermined pressure at a predetermined temperature, the microcapsule breaks discharging the dye or ink. Thus, by suitably controlling a temperature and a pressure, which should be exerted on the image-forming sheet 10, it is possible to selectively squash and break the microcapsules of the microcapsule layer of the image-forming substrate in accordance with image information, whereby an image can be formed on the microcapsule layer.
On the other hand, to form an image on the microcapsule layer of the image-forming substrate, a printer type of image-forming apparatus is proposed, but other types of image-forming apparatus are not proposed. Of course, before the aforementioned type of image-forming substrate can come into wide use, it is necessary to develop a manual writing device for clearly and easily forming an image on the microcapsule layer of the image-forming substrate without using the printer type of image-forming apparatus.